Josh Donaldson removed from ALDS after taking knee to the head

No one personified the Toronto Blue Jays' dominant offensive push for the playoffs this season more than Josh Donaldson. The MVP candidate turned into an absolute monster at the plate his first season in Toronto, hitting .297/.371/.568, with 41 home runs, in 711 plate appearances.

Now, they'll have to play the rest of Game 1 without him. Donaldson was removed from the contest in the fifth inning after taking a knee to the head on a take-out slide in the bottom of the fourth.

Officially, Donaldson was removed for precautionary reasons. That's somewhat misleading considering the possible severity of the injury, though. He'll be evaluated for a concussion.

The play looked pretty bad at the time, and Donaldson needed a couple of seconds to pick himself off the ground. Coaches, and possibly a trainer, looked at him in the dugout, and he appeared to have a tiny cut on his head.

Donaldson was left in the game initially, but seemed out of it defensively, according to FS1 broadcaster Tom Verducci. He was taken out of the game prior to his next at-bat and was replaced by Ezequiel Carrera in the bottom of the fifth. Cliff Pennington came out to play third base in the sixth inning.

Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre left the game earlier due to a back injury, so both teams will finish the contest without their star third basemen.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik